Gathering reel



6. w. HACKER. -G'ATHERING REEL.- y ,'APPLICATION FILED I'ULYSO. 1920.

1,438,394, Patented De@..12,1922.

f l G. W. APA `CKER.

GATHERING REEL. Arme/umn mgb :uw 3o. 1920. f

' Patented Dec. 12, 19226 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Si f 32 Jg? 4H@ G. W. PACKER. GATHERIING REEL. APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1920.

1,438,394, Patented Dec. 12,1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

as @i GLENN W. PACKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO GOODldAN MANUFACTURING 'rari-iur ortica;

COMPANY, Oll CHICAGO, ILLNOIS, A CORPORATION `0F ILLINOES.

GATHERING REEL.

Application led July 30, 1920. Serial No. 400,251.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Giinivr W. Pacman, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of illinois, have invented a Gathering Reel, of which the following is a speciiication.

rl`his invention relates to gathering reels adapted to be mounted on mining locomotives and has for its principal object to provide a device of the class described that shall be simple and durable in construction, and adapted to occupy a minimum amount of space.

Electrically operated locomotives are frequently provided with conductor cables adapted to afford electrical connections to the trolley wires when the locomotive is being operated over areas of track which are not supplied with feed wires. Under these conditions the conductor cable is usually carried by a gathering reel mounted on the locomotive, which reel is usually either operatively connected to the locomotive axle, or is driven by an independent motor so as to wind the conductor cable on the reel as the locomotive approaches the point of connection of the conductor cable to the feed wire.

vWith gathering reels of the cla-ss above described, it is desirable to maintain a slight tension on the conductor cable as the cable is being wound on the reel. On the other' hand, as the conductor cable is unreeled, it is desirable to provide a slight braking action to the reel so as to eliminate over-running of the same.

ln the present invention l provide a simple and durable construction for the cable reel, including a clutch mechanism which provides a continuous tension in the conductor cable as it is being wound on the reel, and also provides an automatic braking action in the reel when it is moved in the opposite direction to unwind the cable therefrom.V rlhe invention consists inl the combination, construction, and arrangement of parts as will hereinafter be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the gathering reel embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a side View of the reel with the end housing removed to show the friction clutch mechanism.

Figure 3 is view similar to Figure 2, but with the clutch mechanism moved to a different operating position.

Figure 4 is a view in elevation of the gathering reel.

Figure 5 is a view of the side opposite that of Figures 2 and 3, with the cover plate removed to show the collector ring.

Figure 6 is a detail.

Referring now to details of the construction of the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the gathering reel comprises a body portion A mounted on supports B, B, and having a collector ring device C at one end, and a clutch mechanism D at the opposite end thereof. The body portion A comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending frame members 10, 10, arranged in the form or" a cylinder' and clamped at their ends between the end plates 11 and 12. The frame members are preferably made of wood or other non-conducting material. rlhe end plates 11 and 12 are provided with annular shoulders 11a and 12a, respectively, concentrically arranged with respect to the reel shaft 13. Radially extending discs 14, 14, having insulated inner surfaces 1d, 14?, are attached to the outer peripheries of the end plates 11 and 12. The frame members lOare preferably arranged with their ends between the inner margin of the discs 141-, lll and the shoulders lla and 12"L of the cud plates so as to be secured therebetween, as shown in Figure '1... The end plates 11 and 12 are keyed or otherwise attached to the shaft 15% and are clamped together by a plurality of longitudinal extending tie rods 15, 15, having threaded end portions 16, 16, extending thru the end' plates and provided with retaining nuts 17, 17.

Gathering reels of the cla-ss herein described are usually provided with a collector ring and brush suitable for conducting the electric current from the rotating reel to Clt trie locomotive. ln the present construction, the collector ring mechanism is indicated at C and comprises a ring 13 carried by and moving with the reel, and a brush 19, suitably mounted in the bracket 2O onthe end bearin:j 2l. in the present invention, l provide a novel construction and mounting for the collector ring 18, which comprises an annular contact portion 22, and a plurality of inwardly extending lugs 23, 23. The collector ring is seated on a. suitable insulated block 2l mounted adjacent the end plate 11. A. second insulating block 25 having a series of recesses 26, 26 on its under face adapted to register with the lugs 23, 23, lits inside of the collector ring and against the block 24 so as to retain the collector ring in position thereagainst. Suitable retaining means for securing the blocks 2/1- and 25 to the end plate 11 comprises a plurality of extensions 2T, 2T on the tie rods 15,- l5, which project thru the insulating blocks 2i and 25 and a retaining plate 28 carried on the shaft 13, as shown. The retaining plate and insulating blocks are secured by means of nuts 29, 29, on thethreaded extensions 27, 27, as shown.

The clutch mechanism D comprises a friction drum 30, which may be integral with the end plate 12. An internal expanding friction band 31 is mounted in the drum 30 and is faced with a suitable friction resisting substance 32. @ne end 33 of the friction band, is pivotally connected to a supporting frame 34tjournaled on the shaft 13. Said frame 3d comprises a main portion 3de and a laterally extending portion A bell-crank lever 36 is pivoted on the frame portion 35, and has an arm 36 pivotally attached to the end 37 of the friction band opposite to the first mentioned end The second arm 36h of the bell-crank lever extends across the main portion 34a of the supporting frame and is provided at its end with a rocking dog ao. A sprocket wheel 39 or similar power transmitting means is operatively connected with the disk d0, .provided with a plurality of notches 41, el. Said sprocket may be driven from the locomotive axle, or by an independent motor, desired., so that when the locomotive is advancing toward the point of connection of the conductor cable to vthe supply wires, the disk 40 is driven in a clockwise direction (see Figure 2), and the dog 33 becomes engaged in one of the notches di on said disk. The bell-crank lever 36 is rocked outwardly so as to expand the ends of the friction'band 3l and provide thereby a frietional engagement with the drum 30, transmitting the driving torque to the'reei. frs before sugA gested, it is desirable to maintains. tension on the conductor cable as it is being wound on the reel, and to this end provide an adjustment whereby the amount of expansion of the friction band may be limited. This arrangement comprises a lock nut 42 carried bv the projecting member 35 on the frame 34 and having an end portion e3 adapted to engage a lug i4 on the arm 36a of the bell-crank lever. The lug da is preferably arranged so as to be positioned intermediate the main portion 34a of the frame 34 and the member 35 extending laterally therefrom. A spring 45 is mounted intermediate the arm 35 and the lug illand is adapted to contract the friction band when the driving torque is relieved. rlension means for the dog 33 comprises a spring i6 preferably connected'with the friction hand 3l so as to maintain said dog in operative position with the disk 10. lt will now be clear that with the construction above described, the sprocket 39 and disc l() may be driven at a rate slightly greater than that necessary to retrieve the conductor cable on the reel, but the set screw Zl2 is so adjusted as to limit the amount of expansion of the friction band. rlhe friction band may thus be maintained to exert a slipping friction on the drum to drive the same and maintain tension on the cable. lt will also be noted, that the arrangement of the dog 33 and notches el, 41 is such that the reel can be driven in but one direction to wind the cable thereon.

Referring now to the arrangement for applying a brake to the reel during the time that theY locomotive is moving away from the point of connection to the conductor cable and the latter is being withdrawn from the reel, it will be seen that l utilize the friction band 3() for this purpose. lt is manifest that the braking friction must be considerably7 less than that necessary to drive the reel. Accordingly, when the direction of rotation of the reel is reversed so as to unwind the cable therefrom, the reel will move in the counter-clockwise direction in Figure 2. The driving mechanism operating thru the sprocket 39, is disconnected by any suitable arrangement, such as a releasing clutch, so as to allow the sprocket 39 and disk l0 to rotate freely in a counterclockwise direction. T he spring 45 between the projecting member 35 andthe bell-crank arm 36a tends to contract or dra-w the ends 33 and 37 of the friction band together. .es the clutch mechanism rotates, u. projection t7 on the supporting frame 34; cornes into engagement with a dog` 4:3 mounted on the frame member 49, the said dog being` arranged so as to allow the projection. si? to pass it while the reel is being wound, or rotated in the clockwise direction, but will check the rotation of the frame 3d when it is being u-nwound, or rotated in the counterclockwise direction. lWhen the reel is being unwound, therefore, the clutch mechanism takes the position shown in Figure 3, in which the friction band is contracted to a CJi 'degree sutlicient to apply the necessary bra-li'- ing action and retard the cable reel so as to eliminate the danger of over-running of the conductor cable. l provide means for adjusting the braking tension by means of a set screw 5() mounted on the main portion of the arm 34e so as to engage with the side of the lug sie opposite to the set screw 50. lt will thus be seen that the set screws 42 and 50 are adjustable; the former to limit the expansion of the brake band so as to provide the necessary driving friction, and the latter limiting the contraction of the brake band so as to provide the necessary braking action when the reel is rotated in the opposite direction.

The supporting frames B, B each comprise a base plate 5l and a pair of oppositely disposed L-bars 52, 52 attached to, and extending between, the base plates 5l, 5l. in inverted iii-member 53 has end portions 53a, 53a each attached to the L-menibers 52, and a central elongated portion 53h,

spaced above and parallel to the base plate 5l.`

A centrally disposed supporting block 54 extends from the base plate 5l' upwardly to the cross member 58h. rEhe bearing mountings of the reel are mounted above said cross member 53D, and comprise a bearing 2l at one end of the reel adjacent the collector ring device C, and a similarly disposed bearing member 55 on the opposite end of the reel. Cover plates 56, 56, are provided to cover the mechanism at each end of the reel, as shown.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to cover by Letters Patent, is: i

' l. In a gathering reel, the combination of a reel, a shaft for said reel, a support for said shaft, a friction drum on the reel having an internal expanding band mounted therein, a frame ouriialed on the shaft having two relatively movable arms each connected to adjacent ends of said friction band, driving mechanism for said reel, means affording operative connection between said frame and said driving mechanism to drive the reel in one direction, means on said frame actuated by the driving torque to expand the arms of said frame relatively to eachother, and means limiting the rotation of said frame in the direction opposite to that in which the reel is driven.

2. In a gathering reel, the combination of a. reel, a shaft for said reel, a support for said shaft, a friction drum on the reel having an internal expanding band mounted therein, a frame journaled on the shaft having two relatively movable arms each connected to adjacent ends of said friction band, driving mechanism for `said ree-l, means affording operative connection between said franie and said driving mechanism to drive the reel in one directioin,

A i i" l means' on said frame actuated by the driving torque to expand the arms oi' said frame relative to each other, means limiting the relative expansion of sa-id arms, and means limiting the rotation of said frame in the direction opposite to that in which the-reel is driven.

3. In a gathering of a reel, a shaft for said reel, a support for said shaft, a friction drum on the reel having an internal expanding band mounted therein7 a frame journaled on the shaft having two relatively movable arms each connected to adjacent ends of said friction band, driving mechanism for said reel, means affording operative connection between said frame and said driving mechanism to drive the reel in one direction, means on said frame actuated by the driving torque to expand the arms of said frame relative to each other, means limiting the relative expansion and contraction of said arms, .and means limiting the rotation of said frame inthe direction opposite to that in which the reel is driven. y

4c. In a device of the class described, a reel, a friction drum operatively connected with said reel, a frame rotatably mounted concentric with said drum, driving mechanism for said reel, friction means carried by and movable respective to said frame, ratchet mechanism affording operative connection between said frame and driving means in one direction of rotation of the latter, means on said frame actuated by the driving torque to move said friction means into driving` engagement with the drum and means limiting the rotation of said frame in the direction opposite to that in which it is driven.

5. In a device of the .class described, a i'eel, a friction drum operatively connected with said reel, a frame rotatably mounted concentric with said drum, driving mechanism for said reel, friction means carried by and movable respective to said frame, ratchet mechanism affordingoperative connection between said frame and driving means in one direction of rotation of the latter, means on said frame actuated by the driving torque to move said friction means into driving engagement with the drum, means limiting the relative movement of said fiction means and said frame, and means limiting the rotation of said frame in the direction opposite to 'that in which it is driven.

6. In a device of the class described, a reel, a friction drum operatively connected with said reel, a frame rotatably vmounted concentric with said drum, driving mechanism for said reel, friction means carried by and movable respective to said frame, ratchet mechanism affording operative connection between said frame and driving reel, the combination lOO the relative movement of Said friction means and said frame, and means limiting the rotation of said frame in the direction 10 opposite to that in Which it is driven.

Signed at Chicago7 11inois this 24: day ot' July, A. D. 1920. GLENN W. PACKER, 

